OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 9

don’t think she’s controversial 
are those without access to 
the internet. A search of her 
YouTube videos would show 
that she has expressed an 
opinion about just about every 
aspect of her life as a parent 
(about which she has also writ-
ten two books), her divorce, 
open relationships, sexual 
harassment, holistic medicine, 
food (she is vegan) and her 
experiences as a sitcom actress. 
So, there’s plenty of ammuni-
tion for critics.
Although the charming and 
knowledgeable Trebek often 
sounded as if he knew the 
answers to many of the ques-
tions on the show even with-
out being told, he was just a 
radio and television announcer 
who went on to success as 
a popular game-show host. 
Bialik was a successful child 
actress. She took a long break 
from the arts to go to college 
and ultimately wound up 
with a Ph.D. in neuroscience 
from UCLA before eventually 
returning to acting as a better 
way to support and spend 
more time with her children, 
as opposed to a position as a 
research scientist. That, along 
with her own brand of charm 
and comic timing, as well as 
long experience in the rigors of 
work in television, made her a 
solid candidate for the coveted 
position.
Yet as the New York Times 
article — and the many com-
ments appended to it from 
readers who highlight their 
anger about someone who is 
not supportive of “Palestine”— 
makes clear, her connection 
with Judaism seems to stick in 
a lot of people’s throats.
Her past views on vaccines 
are certainly controversial, 
but since she’s not a COVID 
holdout that would not seem 
to be much of an obstacle. As 
for the brain supplement, she 

asserts that she just said it was 
beneficial rather than making 
claims that it cures anyone of 
anything. And considering that 
Trebek made a fortune shilling 
for an insurance company, a 
motel chain and a brand of 
crackers, the notion that the 
host of Jeopardy! should not be 
tainted by commercialism is a 
bit rich.
So other than those who 
object to her looks or her gen-
der — or who are just fans of 
one of the other candidates 
— the only really substantive 
objection to Bialik is her public 
embrace of both Judaism and 
Israel. Indeed, the fact that she 
raised funds to buy bullet-proof 
vests for Israel Defense Force 
soldiers during the 2014 Gaza 
war as terrorist rockets rained 
down on Israeli villages, towns 
and cities is considered a prob-
lem for Times readers.
It’s not clear in what con-
text being a “staunch Zionist” 
and a Jew who takes her faith 
seriously (though raised in the 
Reform movement, she now 
identifies as Modern Orthodox) 
would disqualify someone for 
any job. That the New York Times 
highlights this as a reasonable 
objection to being a game-show 
host would be puzzling if not 
for the newspaper’s long history 
of biased coverage of Israel and 
Jewish issues.
The security of the Jewish 
community won’t rest on 
Bialik’s prospects for becoming 
the permanent host of Jeopardy! 
But the mere fact that her open 
Jewish identity is considered 
problematic speaks volumes 
about what passes for reason-
able reporting and discourse at 
the newspaper that still poses 
as America’s paper of record 
should trouble everyone. 

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of 

JNS — Jewish News Syndicate. Follow 

him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.

Bring
Danny Home!

The Detroit Jewish News 
urges the community to 
continue raising awareness 
for Huntington Woods native 
Danny Fenster — a journalist 
who has been unjustly held 
without cause and without 
specified charges for
158 days

by a military regime in 
a gruesome prison in 
Myanmar (Burma).

The family is looking for people 
to create portraits of Danny that 
can be shared on social media at 
https://bringdannyhome.com/pages/gallery.

You can also support Danny at: 
BringDannyHome.com 
fenster-verse.tumblr.com 
facebook.com/groups/1164768597279223.

Journalist Danny Fenster speaking with a family who lost 
a loved one to gun violence in New Iberia, La., in 2018.

